


Proof in Absence

by Geonn



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Episode: s04e21 Asylum, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-26
Updated: 2016-05-26
Packaged: 2018-07-10 09:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6978247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geonn/pseuds/Geonn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Shaw is moved to a new location, she starts putting some pieces together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Proof in Absence

They shuffle her off in the middle of the night and she sees the snow, feels the bite in the air. Is it Christmas? How long have they kept her in that damn asylum? Nights seemed to last forever since she could never sleep through until dawn. Either Martine was fucking with her head or Lambert was giving her the pitch to join Samaritan, and if they had the night off then she was kept awake by the screaming of other patients. 

They kept her drugged in an effort to make her compliant, in an effort to soften her mind enough that they could form it like putty. The same old conditioning tricks, the familiar Clockwork Orange bullshit. Martine even dyed her hair in a pathetic attempt to convince her that she was Root. Shaw had to admit there were a few moments, catching a glimpse of brown hair through the doors, that she let herself believe it. But it was always a fleeting thought. She may be at the edge, but she was digging in with her fingers for all that she was worth to keep from falling.

Now she’s in the van, seated in the front next to a goon she’s seen before. The men behind her are holding guns on the back of her head; she can see them in the side mirror and knows she couldn’t possibly get them both. She watches the side of the road for opportunities to jump out, but again... futile. Nowhere to run or hide before they caught up and punished her for the attempt. So instead she thinks about how unusual the sudden departure is.

A guard tried to grab her arm as they left the building, but the nurse stopped him. It needed to look like she was walking unassisted and without coercion. Why? Was someone watching? She had looked back and saw Martine putting her bloody coat on the foot of the bed. Why? Why had they kept it so long and, given the weather, wouldn’t it have made more sense to let her wear it even though it was still stained? What was the point of putting it out on display like that?

More drugs before they arrived at their destination. She felt like she was down in the well for a very long time, unaware and unfeeling, untouched by the passage of time. Occasionally she heard voices in the shadows.

“--another damn dose.”

“--gave her enough to put down a rhino.”

“Well it wasn’t enough. Hit her again.”

“--nesburg facility is ready--”

When she came to, she was in a new room. The building was quieter, at least, and her room was bigger and more private. Greer came in from time to time but Lambert was her new best friend. He was always there. He was constantly pushing her, testing her limits, trying to trick her into seeing their side of things. Sometimes when the room was dark enough, she could see their suits like ghosts behind the mirror. Watching her. Observing their little science experiment. 

In between simulations, she stares at the ceiling and thinks about her last night in the asylum. Lambert comes in and he smells freshly showered and cologned. Morning, then. He walks to the foot of her bed and checks her chart.

“I’ll declare loyalty to Samaritan.”

His eyes snap up, curiosity and skepticism fighting with hope. “Is that so?”

She’s too weak to lift her head off the pillow. “On one condition.”

He puts the chart back and squares his shoulders. “And what might that be?”

“I’ll only surrender to Martine.”

His lip twitches and she knows. She smiles.

“Martine’s not here, is she? You set up a show at the asylum... why? For whose benefit? They drove me out of there pretty fast, and they were watching for tails. Someone was there. Someone came looking for me, so you made me walk out of the building under my own power and left my bloody coat on the bed for them to find. Martine stayed behind to hold them off.”

Shaw uses what little energy she has to lift her head, staring at Lambert.

“She never came back. Did she. Martine is dead.”

Lambert smiles condescendingly but she knows him well enough to see the truth. Her eyes track him as he walks back to the door. 

“Miss Rousseau is extremely busy. She doesn’t have the time to--”

“Bullshit,” Shaw says. “That bitch lived for torturing me. She didn’t care about the Machine or winning this war as much as she cared about breaking me just because she didn’t like me. She wanted to win. She wouldn’t just hand this job over to you unless she didn’t have a choice. Someone came to that asylum. That’s why I had to leave. Martine stayed to fight them and she died.”

Lambert says, “Have a good day, Sameen.”

He leaves, taking care to close the door gently. Shaw drops back on the mattress, exhausted, but she smiles up at the ceiling. Someone came looking for her. Someone found her and forced Samaritan to scramble, and it had cost them one of their top lieutenants. Oh, how she wishes she could have been there. When she gets out of this place, she’ll ask for a detailed description of how Martine was finally eliminated. It was Root who did it. John would fight her, sure, but Root would have the bloodlust necessary to put the bitch down.

They were looking for her. They were coming. And they’d found her once, so it’s only a matter of time before they found her again. She closes her eyes and relaxes in preparation for whatever experiment Lambert and Greer have up their sleeves.

She just has to be patient.


End file.
